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| Leaving Niigata |
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| The next day in sunny Shibuya |
Leaving from Niigata station on the overnight bus, just the second day of a week of constant snow... I'm outta here! Arrived in Tokyo to blue skies. Beautiful afternoon in Shibuya.
Matteo from Italy was in town which was main reason for making the trip. Handed some Hellraiser discs off to him and had a coffee. This is the 3rd time for me to physically meet a Good Squid customer, but the first time in Japan! It was a real pleasure for me. After that, it was time to meet up with Endo-san who used to live in my neighborhood here in Niigata. He was transferred to Tokyo for work. It's always good times with Endo-san since he is a great conversationalist and an all around fun guy.
The next day it was off to Shimokitazawa where they have a bunch of antique, recycle, used clothing, and toy shops. Found a few things there for Good Squid and some nice presents too. Definitely a recommended spot for anyone interested in Japanese antiques. Shimokitazawa is natsukashii central and the shutters are covered with cute artwork. I love the shutter art here in Japan because nobody comes along and messes it up, just the opposite of Berlin where you can't even process all the graffiti on the buildings.
Then off to Kitasenjyu the next day to meet up with my friend Phil and his wife Ikue. Phil introduced me to his local speakeasy 'Yagoya' aka '858'. Love the store front on this bar. They had a very well-tempered cat lounging about as people happily drank and talked with each other. Met a guy, Higuchi-san, who was involved with the team first designing the Transformers (first called 'Diaclone' here in Japan) with Takara back around 1980. It was a real honor to meet him. He is officially retired now but he still works as a sort of creative director for his circle of artists. A legend of a man. After a fun night out, it was time for some really good ramen. And of course time to buy souvenirs for friends back home. Found this cool old edo-period candy shop run by and old married couple. Friendly people and good candy too!
And of course, all the good stuff from the trip - the loot!! Laserdiscs of Faith No More, Queen, and others. Retro video game stuff galore, some old Topps horror movie cards and video game cards, gruesome movie chirashi, Mario board games, LaserActive MEGA-LDs, Mario menko cards from 1985 and lots of other cool stuff!!
